


Strength of Body, Strength of Mind

by LayzDayz



Series: Black and Blue and Red All Over [5]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Heart-to-Heart, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, Trapped
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:28:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27694844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LayzDayz/pseuds/LayzDayz
Summary: When Tony and Peter get trapped under a building during a mission, Peter’s PTSD reveals more than Peter would like to Tony. ie Tony finds out about Toomes dropping a building on Peter.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Black and Blue and Red All Over [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2023364
Kudos: 139





	Strength of Body, Strength of Mind

**Author's Note:**

> This one-shot was also posted on fanfiction.net, but it is very different to that version as it has been edited and that one has not. So, if it looks familiar, but better than you remember… that’s why.

Tony woke up to blackness, and the inability to move. It was terrifying at first, but then, as his senses returned, he realized that he was in his suit, which was only slightly less terrifying. Lights began to flicker and his display appeared, though he still couldn’t see outside the suit.

"Multiple injuries detected," Friday’s robotic voice spoke up. He groaned.

"Oh, hey Mr. Stark. You're awake," That was Peter's voice. It sounded strained and he could hear the kid breathing fast, but he was close… very close.

"Kid?" he asked. "What happened?"

"The building fell," Peter told him. His voice still sounding off. He grunted slightly. "We're trapped."

"Are you okay?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm good," Peter announced, but not very convincingly.

Promising himself he would come back to that, Tony turned his attention to Friday. "Friday, give me a report."

"You have a mild concussion and many lacerations and contusions. The building lost structural integrity during the fight entrapping you and Mr. Parker. Help is on the way."

Tony was amazed that he had come out of a collapsed building with so few injuries. His suit was tough, but not that tough. He was pretty sure he was lying on his back, but it was hard to tell.

"Why can't I move?" Tony asked, trying to move his arms and legs unsuccessfully.

"The suit was damaged in the initial impact and locked up as a defensive measure. I am working to repair vital functions." That probably saved him a few broken bones, but wasn’t helping him or Peter now.

"Can you lift the faceplate?" he asked.

Instead of responding the mask simply retracted and what Tony saw wasn't at all what he expected.

Peter's face was only inches from his, his arms stretched out on either side of Tony's head, holding him over Tony in almost a plank position. His face red and strained, his eyes watering. It took a moment to process but Tony came to the jolting realization that Peter was holding up the rubble of the building on his own.

"Kid?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Mr. Stark. But I don't know how much longer I can hold this," a grunt slipped through his lips. Tony's mind was working frantically. Peter's arms trembled under the weight of the building. In fact, his whole body was trembling, and Tony couldn’t even move.

"What the hell?" he murmured, still in shock over the information and the fear of knowing that if Peter's arms collapsed, he was a dead man, they both were.

"You're doing great, Pete." He encouraged weakly. "Friday, how much longer?"

Instead of a response he heard shouts from somewhere above his head.

"Tony! Spider-Man!'

"In here!" Tony shouted. He still couldn't move his arms. Still was completely useless. Peter's arms shook violently until he fell to his elbow on one, pushing him up against Tony. He tucked his head in Tony’s neck for a moment.

"Sorry, I'm sorry Mr. Stark," he whispered exhaustedly.

"You're doing great, kid. Fantastic, really, just a little longer."

"Come on, Spider-man," Peter whispered to himself before pushing his arm back up.

"Pete," Tony murmured. "Did you catch the building?" he asked.

"I couldn't... I couldn't let it hurt you."

Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing or seeing. He was Iron Man. The man of iron. He was in the armored robotic suit. He was the adult. But he was the one being protected from thousands of pounds of rubble by a flesh and bone, young… child.

"Are you hurt?" Tony asked, not wanting to make Peter talk more than he needed too, but also terrified out of his mind for more than one reason. He might have already asked this question…

"I..." Peter started. "I don't know..." he sounded scared. "I'm sorry... Mr. Stark."

"Sorry for what, you didn't do anything wrong."

"You told me not to go after him," Peter said forlornly. "You told me to stay in the neighborhood."

Tony frowned. He had invited Peter on this mission, he had asked him to come.

"Pete, what are you talking about?" he asked.

"The Vulture. You told me to leave him alone, and I didn't listen. He knocked the building down on me and I'm trapped now. I'm stuck..."

He was delirious, Tony realized, whether from the strain of holding up the building or some injury Tony couldn't see.

"Toomes is in jail, Pete. You put him in jail. You beat him."

Peter looked confused. "Oh... right... that... that was before. I was trapped... I didn't have my phone... it was in his car, and you took my suit, but I got out, cuz I'm Spider-man."

Tony grit his teeth together as he filed all that information away for later. Right now was not the time to talk about it.

"That's right, you're Spider-Man," Tony encouraged.

"Systems restored," Friday chirped in his ear. Tony could move his arms again. Moving carefully so as not to disturb Peter he placed his hands against the beam on Peter's back, pushing up with his reinforced strength. Peter relaxed a little, but the suit didn't have enough juice to take all the weight. Honestly, Tony wasn’t sure if it would even at full power.

"Hold on, Pete. They're coming for us,” Encouraged some more, now feeling a bit of the strain himself, even though Peter and the suit were still taking a shit ton of the majority.

Peter was gasping but managed a nod. Suddenly a large piece of rubble above their heads was moved and light poured in.

"Peter! Tony!' A familiar voice called, it was Rhodey. "This whole thing's going to come down any second.

'Grab the kid!" Tony yelled. His face plate snapping shut.

"No!" Peter shouted, pushing harder against the beam. "It'll crush you," he wept.

"Pete, it's going to be okay, I promise. We're both going to get out of here. Do you trust me?" he asked.

Peter was openly crying now, tears dripping off his nose onto Tony's mask, but he nodded.

"Okay when I say go, you grab the kid," Rhodey didn't hesitate, just gave him the affirmative as he wrapped two metal hands around Peter's wrists.

"Now!' Tony yelled pushing against the beam with all his might. Rhodey whipped the now exhausted teenager out from under the rubble. Without Peter holding it up Tony had less than seconds to move. Activating the repulsors on his feet the suit slid him out from under the worst of the rubble. He skid against the pavement, like a stone skipping on a pond, jarring his already damaged head, until finally he stopped in the middle of the street. Rhodey flew over with Peter in his arms, placing him carefully on the ground beside Tony.

Tony gave the order and the suit retracted, it was too depleted to do much else at this point. He gasped in sweet lungfulls of air and prayed to whatever diety there was that his PTSD from this event wouldn’t be so bad that he couldn’t put the suit on again. Tony glanced over at Peter who had collapsed completely on the dirty pavement. Every few seconds tremors would rack his body as his abused muscles attempted to recover. Tony placed a hand on Peter’s shoulder, the boy couldn’t even flinch.

"You did great, kid. You saved me." Tony praised.

Despite the tremors, Peter still let out a relieved laugh.

"We saved each other, Mr. Stark."

~.~.~.~

Back in the Compound they sat in twin beds in the med bay each getting checked out for minor injuries. Tony had a mild concussion. Peter only had a few cracked ribs and of course strained muscles. The kid was tough. When the doctors had finally let them alone for a minute, giving them a chance to breathe, Tony moved from his bed to sit on Peter's.

Peter sat up, grimacing as he did so, until Tony lay a hand on his shoulder and he fell back. That made Tony laugh. Kid could catch a whole building, but let Tony push him around.

"You... you said something back there, I wanted to ask you about."

Peter looked confused, as he tried to wrack his brain for what he might have said.

"Something about Mr. Buzzard knocking a building down on you?" Tony asked.

Peter's eyes widened and then he dropped his head sheepishly. "Oh... that."

Tony swore under his breath. He really had been hoping it was just Peter's delirium that had made him think he was fighting Toomes. Not traumatic memories resurfacing. He really didn’t want to think about Peter being trapped under tons of concrete and metal… alone… unable to call for help… because of Tony.

"It was that night, the night the plane crashed on the beach?" Tony asked, despite himself.

Peter nodded.

"Right after I took your suit?" Tony asked again.

Peter nodded slowly, then his head snapped up. "It wasn't your fault though," Peter insisted. "You were right to take away the suit, I wasn't ready and I was being stupid."

"Yeah..." Tony nodded. "You were.”

They sat there awkwardly as Tony tried to figure out what to say. Finally he started, hoping he was saying the right thing.

“I didn’t give you the suit because you deserved it, or because you were this great hero. I gave you the suit because you were a kid who was bound to get in over your head, and when that inevitably happened I wanted someone to be there to help. But then I took it away... and you didn't have the help when you needed it... that's on me.” 

_And if you die? ... I feel like that's on me._

Perhaps he had been trying to avoid being responsible when he took the suit away, maybe he really was hoping it would make Peter think twice before doing something so reckless, but whatever his reasoning, he was wrong.

Peter seemed lost in thought, oblivious to Tony's own traumatic memories. Finally he shrugged. "I'm Spider-Man," he said. "With or without my suit. I'm Spider-Man," he looked up at Tony. "You taught me that...and..." he looked away. "If you hadn't, I don't know if I could have done what I did today."

Tony processed that, nodding slowly. It didn't change that he had made a mistake, but, if he was honest, it did make him feel just slightly better. Peter seemed to have a way of doing that. Now the moment was quickly getting too emotional for Tony, but he knew he still owed the kid something for saving his life.

"Well... thanks for not letting me get pancaked…" Tony said. "I really prefer waffles anyway," the joke was so weak that Tony almost groaned at himself.

Peter’s mouth dropped open. “What? No! Pancakes are the best!”

Tony smiled inwardly as they quickly entered into a normal and playful debate about the qualities of pancakes and waffles. He was glad to dissolve the emotional tension in the room, but vowed to never forget how strong Spider-Man really was.


End file.
